Hour Glass newsletter, v9 #2 (partial)

The Hour Glass

A Publication of the Historical Society of Ogden Dunes, Indiana, Inc.
Volume 7 Number 8 October 1999

Gary Post-Tribune, Friday, 18 September, 1936 HOUND TRACK OWNERS BUILD DUNES COURSE Plan Race Next Week on Oval at Burns Ditch; 'Crack Down' Seen      Horace Greeley's advice, "Go west, young man," has not been heeded by operators of the Hammond greyhound race track. They have gone east--or rather they are going east--to a new location just south of Dunes Highway and a short distance east of the entrance to Ogden Dunes and west of Burns Ditch.
     There, shielded from the view of Dunes Highway by a slight rise of ground, they hope to open late next week on a track which has been under construction for more than a week.
     Asked if he would prevent the opening and operation of the track, Sheriff Neil Fry of Porter county, in which the site is located, said he had no knowledge of the venture but he "very much doubted" if it would be permitted to operate.
Doubts Dogs Will Run      "This is the first I have heard of the track being moved into Porter county. To my knowledge operators have been granted no permit and I very much doubt if they will be allowed to open."
     Informed that plans call for opening of the track next week, he said:
     "Then I'll be there for the grand opening and I don't think the dogs will run."
     Donald F. Stiver, state safety director and superintendent of the Indiana state police, said in a telephone conversation from Indianapolis today that he had not been informed greyhound racing was to be attempted in Porter county.
     "This is the first I have heard of it," he said, requesting information as to the exact location of the new track. "Of course, there will have to be actual violation of the state law against gambling before the state police can take any action."
Three Laborers at Work      Although he would not make a clear-cut statement as to whether or not state police would "crack down" on the dog track if Porter county officers permit it to operate, he hinted his department would frown on the opening of the venture.
     At the present rate of improving the rough course, there will be little accommodations for spectators unless movable bleachers are hauled in next week. No structures of any kind have been erected or are being erected.
     Three laborers using a tractor, a grader and shovels are leveling off the course itself. The oval track on which the "rabbit machine" will run has been laid, but little else has been done in the way of improvements.
On Swanson Homestead      The track is located about one-half mile south of Dunes Highway and the South Shore tracks. An unimproved, country road, not wide enough for two automobiles to pass, leads from the highway past the racing site. The track is located on the old Swanson homestead, now owned by heirs whose identity has not been learned.
     It was ascertained yesterday the new venture is being attempted by the same operators who, for more than a year have attempted to operate at Calumet and Sheffield avenues in Hammond. The track has been involved in court litigation of one sort or another since it first attempted to open there.
     On Sept. 2 Mayor Frank R. Martin refused to issue a license to its owners, Gerhart H. Schroeter and A. Meyer, who sought permission to hold outdoor acrobatics and greyhound races on the "bank night" plan used by theaters.

Dogs to Chase Bunnies Here? Maybe! dog track

The above views are of the greyhound race track being built just south of Dunes Highway behind a slight rise of ground across the highway from the Ogden Dunes entrance. Behind the new venture are the same operators who unsuccessfully have sought to operate a dog racing track in Hammond. Porter County Sheriff Neil Fry said the track will not be permitted to open next week as planned by the promoters.

     [These two pictures, reproduced ftom a microfilm copy of the newspaper article, were too poor to stand another stage of copying and appear in the original newsletter itself. However I figure that, as you're viewing these Web-pages for free, you can accept the lousy image quality without complaint.]
     So what's the rest of the story? This was turned up four years ago. Half a dozen other articles in four other newspapers did not add much more to our knowledge. This society's trustees knew nothing of the matter. Now it's up to you, the regular members! 1936 was 63 years ago but there are still people around who remember the ski-jump, which has been gone for longer than that.
     Surely this early attempt of organized crime to sidle up to our border made an impression on Duners. Was it never talked about at the time and never mentioned to people who moved into town later?
     Was this dog track attempt the seed of the old rumor that a Chicago mobster, sometimes a Capone henchman, lived southeast of town? (Speaking of which, if anyone has any more details of that tale, those would be appreciated, too.)
     Note that the two parts of that newspaper piece do not even agree on where the race track was to be. As the sand mining of those dunes had not begun yet, the likeliest location for the operation was on the south side of the old Chicago road. (That trail, which farther west is called Stagecoach Road, was abandoned after being replaced by the Dunes Highway and being cut off by the North Arm of Burns Ditch.)
     The two newspaper photos are very unclear off the microfilm. All that shows is an expanse of level ground, devoid of vegetation, encircled by rails for a rabbit, with trees in the background The first mention found was in the 17th's Chesterton Tribune.

Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, Saturday, 19 September, 1936 Dog Race Track Being Built Near Dunes Highway
SHERIFF FRY PLANS TO STOP ITS OPENING Owners of Hammond's Track Reported Getting Place in Shape in North Porter County. STIVER UNAWARE OF PREPARATIONS      Operators of the Hammond greyhound race track banned by court action from operating in Lake county, are planning to open a race track south of the Dunes Highway and east of Ogden Dunes in the Burns ditch vicinity in northwest Porter county.
     There, shielded from the view of the Dunes Highway by a slight rise of ground, they hope to open late next week on a track which has been under construction for more than a week, it became known today.
     Asked if he would prevent the opening and operation of the track, Sheriff Neil Fry, of Porter county, said he had no knowledge of the venture but he "very much doubted" if it would be permitted to operate.
     "This is the first I have heard of the track being moved to Porter county. To my knowledge operators have been granted no permit and I very much doubt if they will be allowed to open," he said.
     Informed that plans call for opening of the track next week, he said:
     "Then I'll try to be there for the grand opening and I don't think the dogs will run."
     Donald F. Stiver, state safety director and superintendent of state police, also said he had not been informed greyhound racing was to be attempted in Porter county.
     Stiver stated that there would have to be actual violation of the state law against gambling before the state police could take any action.
     Although he would not make a clear-cut statement as to whether or not state police would "crack down" on the dog track if Porter County officers permit it to operate, he hinted his department would frown on the opening of the venture.
     Three laborers using a tractor, a grader and shovels are leveling off the course. The oval track on which the "rabbit machine" will run has been laid, but little else has been done in the way of improvements.
     The tract is located on the old Swanson homestead, now owned by heirs whose identity is not known.

Michigan City Evening Dispatch, Monday, 21 September, 1936 WILL HALT DOG RACING IN DUNES      Sheriff Neil Fry, Porter county sheriff, said today he would halt racing on the Hammond greyhound race track at its proposed site east of Ogden Dunes along U. S.-12 if the operators, banned from operating in Lake county, build their track in the dunes as planned.
     Various reports have reached the sheriff that work has progressed a week already on the track. He said the track would have to operate before he could make arrests, however.
     Three laborers using a tractor, a grader and shovels are leveling off the course in the dunes, it is said. The oval track, along which the mechanical rabbit will run, has been laid, but little else has been done, reports say.

Chesterton Tribune, Thursday, 24 September, 1936 TRACK READY BUT DOGS MAY NOT RACE NEAR HERE      A dog track on the old Swanson homestead south of Ogden Dunes and just over the dunes from highway 12 is ready for customers; that is, the narrow metal track around which rides the dummy rabbit is built, but no seats for spectators are available as yet.
     However, the opening of the track awaits the pleasure of Porter county authorities and no record of granting permission to open is on file. Sheriff Neil Fry had no knowledge of the track until it was called to his attention and the county commissioners have granted no license. State police will take no action unless the track actually opens.
     The track was moved to Porter county after Hammond authorities refused to let the plant continue to operate there.

Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, Saturday, 26 September, 1936 LOCAL PEOPLE ARE BUILDING NEW DOG TRACK      Hammond dog track operators have nothing to do with the new venture now under construction in Porter county, just north of the Dunes highway, according to John Vincent, of Hammond, public relations counsel for the Calumet Exposition company, owner of the dog track in North Hammond.
     "The Porter county track," Vincent said, "is being constructed entirely by Porter county capital and will be operated by residents of that community. The promoters did ask me to help organize the company because of my past experience, but that is my only connection with the affair.
     "Moreover, they awarded the general contract to Gerhart Schroeter, who built the Hammond oval, simply because he is familiar with this type of construction. As far as I know, Mr. Schroeter is acting only as contractor and holds no interest in the enterprise."
     Vincent said he is not at liberty to reveal the names of the Porter county promoters until they have incorporated their firm at Indianapolis.
     "All I can say for publication," Vincent declared, "is that the Porter county track is an entirely separate venture from the Hammond enterprise and that none of our stockholders or officers hold any interest in it."

Hammond Times, Monday, 29 March, 1937 HAMMOND DOG TRACK CO. MAY GO TO PORTER Promoters Refuse to Confirm that Outlawed Plant Will Be Moved      Whether or not the Calumet Exposition company will remove its Hammond dog track to Porter county as a result of the state supreme court's permanent prohibition of future operations in Lake county, could not be ascertained today.
     John M. Stinson and Schuyler Dwyer, Hammond attorneys representing the company, declared they knew nothing about the reported move to Porter county.
     John Vincent, public relations counsel for the firm, could not be contacted for a statement, nor could any of the company's operating heads.
     The rumors have filled Hammond ever since the supreme court prohibited Judge Bertram C. Jenkines of Gary superior court from enforcing his injunction against interference with the enterprise.
     Attorneys Stanson and Dwyer declared they still are awaiting a copy of the supreme court's ruling before conferring with their clients. They said officers of the company have not intimated to them what their future course will be.
     Gerhard Schroeter, Hammond contractor who built the North Hammond track, and who later headed the Hammond Speedway corporation as operators of the enterprise, was employed last fall, presumably by a group of Porter county men, to supervise construction of a dog track near Dunes highway, east of Gary in Porter county.
     When asked about his Porter county job, Schroeter said he was merely serving as the contractor for the project, declaring he had been engaged to grade the site and otherwise prepare it for development. Schroeter, however, refused to divulge the identity of his employers.
     His connection with the Porter county affair, following his unsuccessful promotion of the Hammond track, is believed to be responsible for reports that the grand stand and other racing paraphernalia of the doomed Hammond oval will be moved to Porter county.
     The Hammond track has run afoul of law enforcement agencies since its conception three years ago.
     Originally owned by the Hammond Speedway corporation, the racing plant ran into legal difficulties the first time it was opened for dog racing. Lake county and Hammond officials obtained an injunction against the enterprise.
     The track then was taken over by the Calumet Exposition company, but this firm also could not overcome governmental opposition. Mayor Frank R. Martin of Hammond and Prosecutor Fred A. Egan obtained a supreme court order preventing Judge Jenkines from granting track operators a restraining order enjoining interference by law enforcement agencies. The supreme court recently made this order permanent.

Chesterton Tribune, Thursday, 1 April, 1937 DOG TRACK MAY TRY TO OPERATE IN PORTER COUNTY      Rumors are circulating that the dog racing track, which was built on the Swanson homestead near the Dunes highway in Portage township last summer, will be operating soon. Lake county authorities have forbidden the operation of the track at Hammond and it has been idle for three years. The same man who helped promote the Hammond track is said to be interested in the Porter county track.
     When the track was built last year, Porter county officials stated that it would not be allowed to operate and no attempt was made to open. It is understood that the grandstand and other buildings at the Hammond track may be moved here if there appears to be good prospects that Porter county people will be more lenient than Lake county.
Chesterton Tribune, Thursday, 17 September, 1936 DOG TRACK FOR PORTER COUNTY IS POSSIBILITY      With Lake county authorities fighting the operation of a greyhound racetrack at Hammond, promoters have stated that they intend to remove the track to some place on highway 12 in Porter county, the exact location not being announced. Application for a permanent writ of prohibition is pending in the state supreme court.
     Whether Porter county will permit the track is also problematical. A racetrack for jockey horses operated in Porter county west of Porter for a short time, until Gov. Thomas R. Marshall ordered the state militia to stop the races because of gambling on the results. Fire destroyed the buildings in 1917 and the property has remained idle since. It is located on highway 20 west of the New York Central underpass.

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Web-published 26th March, 2003.